False Confessions

It is very hard to understand why a person would confess to a crime they did not commit. Until I became a psychology major I felt it was impossible for any sane person to confess to something they did not do and even go to jail for it. There are many reasons an innocent person may make a false confession; for the sake of this discussion I chose confession through coerced internalization. Experts explain that these types of confessions occur when individuals truly believe they are guilty despite the evidence to the contrary. (Chapman 2013) The psychological research has found that some of these false confession happen during interrogation when the interrogator believes the suspect is guilty and they employ whatever means possible to get that confession. So not only will the suspect confess they will form false memories of the crime. (Chapman 2013)The regular american not studying Forensic psychology or criminal justice may assume that an innocent person would only confess if they were beaten or tortured; however there is evidence in our criminal justice system that techniques far less coercive than torture have produced verifiably false confessions in a surprising number of cases. (Contanzo, Krauss 2013)

Through the readings for this discussion I have discovered, and while I do not believe it would be fair to say that all investigators use coercion to get confessions, many police interrogation techniques used are designed to elicit a confession and overcome any denial even if the person is innocent. The police interrogation is a psychological process where the police uses three components isolation- to induce anxiety in the suspect therefore making them more likely to confess confrontation-the interrogator accuses the suspect and can use real or fictitious evidence minimization- the interrogator will show sympathy and a moral justification for the crime(Chapman…...

...False Representation
While watching Mel Gibson’s movie, Apacalypto, he depicts Native Americans with typical stereotypes that we commonly see in today’s society. Some of the stereotypes that are included have to do with their clothing, physical features, personality and their ability to become one with nature. All these aspects were shown through the main character Jaguar Paw as he faced the many difficulties that came his way.
The clothing and physical features that Mel Gibson present are common stereotypes of Native Americans acting like uncivilized savages. In the movie, Jaguar Paw was mostly naked except for an undergarment he wore below the waist. He had tattoos, big piercings, and wore many necklaces, amulets, and bands around his body. Also, he had the body type of a physical fit and toned man with long braided hair. These are all common stereotypes of a typical Native American. They are seen as savages because they wear little or no clothing at all and the amulets that they wear are made from animals that they hunt. Moreover, Jaguar Paw had the stereotypical body, that all Native Americans were fit and muscularly toned because they are hunters and warriors. However, not all Native Americans were naked and physically fit. Every tribe had their own unique style of clothing jewelry and not all men were in shape.
In a particular scene that involved Jaguar Paw, he was portrayed even more as a savage and barbarian. In this scene, Jaguar Paw and his hunting group kill......

...Natural Effects on a Boy
Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions has the entire life of its author’s experiences, virtues, and detailed imperfections. Rousseau’s Confessions is one of the first notable autobiographies and has influenced many forms of narratives. It inaugurated modern day autobiography and inspired a narrative technic used in many great novels. Rousseau wrote this autobiography in order to tell the world about himself and express the nature of man. He did not want to be known by how people thought of him, but rather be able to tell people exactly what happened in his life and let them be the judge. Rousseau begins Confessions by stating, “this is the only portrait of a man, painted exactly according to nature and in all of its truth, that exists and will probably ever exist” (57). He included embarrassing experiences and personal thoughts from throughout his life to show every possible virtue of his life. He portrays what every boy encounters from mischievous trickery to entering sexual adulthood. The events that change his life and himself become a consistent theme while he describes his childhood, sexual cravings, and natural thoughts of a boy’s life.
One of the most common subjects in Rousseau autobiography is the story of his childhood and the nature of a boy. Rousseau’s mother passed away during his birth, which strained the relation between him and his father. When they tried to speak of her the conversation would end with tears because his father saw......

...Areiann Johnson
Final Paper
April 16, 2012
False Confessions
She was killed Mr. Cope. She was raped and murdered!
You are in shock. You are confused. You feel indescribable, unbearable pain. This pain is so emotional that it affects you physically too! Someone has ripped your heart out of your chest and made you watch as they relentlessly take a knife to it. All hope is lost. You will surely die from this ordeal. At least you wish you could! Your heart is weak; it drops into your stomach making you nauseated. How will you ever heal? You have been broken.
Now every thought that runs through your mind is consumed with your desire for revenge. You want nothing more than to catch the person that has taken someone so precious from you; to make them suffer as you have.
Police ask you to come in for questioning. You want to help them do their job and find the perpetrator. You have no idea that the real reason they asked you to come in is because you are their main suspect. They believe you did it. They think that you have taken your own daughters life and have sexually abused her, your little princess…impossible!
Billy Wayne Cope is a religious man and has spent numerous hours in church activities with his twelve year old daughter Amanda. On November 29, 2001 Amanda was found on her bed raped and strangled to death. Billy Wayne Cope became police detectives’ main suspect. He initially thought he was helping catch the person that has done this horrific......

...Taped Confession of Epistemology
Taped Confession of Epistemology
In 1996, I was on a study abroad program as a freshman in college. The trip was a six week tour of the Volga region of Russia, which also consisted of a three week cruise of the Volga River. After the cruise, the ship docked in Moscow and then the students were to board a train to go to St. Petersburg.
While on the cruise, my bunk mate was the professor. Because this was in June, White Nights was in effect and as a result, it was quite difficult to get to sleep. Every night, the professor would talk about his walk-man and how lucky he was to have one to go to sleep with at night. We had a great relationship, so I would tell him that he might wake up dead and his walk-man stolen because he made fun of me not having one! I also was his teaching assistant, so we would often joke with each other about death threats. So this threat was nothing to be alarmed with.
Finally, after three weeks of dealing with the professor, I was looking forward to not having to bunk with him in St. Petersburg. When the ship docked in Moscow, the captain informed us that we needed to return by 8:00 pm so that we would not miss the train going to Petersburg. On a side note, I had lived in Moscow for two years, so I left the rest of the students and made my way around town to see some friends. I returned to the ship at 8:00, loaded my luggage onto a bus and waited for the rest of the students.
At 8:30, the captain of......

...Independent Study Project
Othello, the Invisible Wound, To Kill a Mockingbird
July 30th 2014
By
Eileen Harford
Everyone has had a time in their life when they have misjudged a situation. Whether it was assuming someone took your pencil when it is actually in behind you ear, or assuming which character is the killer in our favorite movie, we all have misjudgements all the time in our lives. When was the last time you have mistaken a situation? The theme of false judgement demonstrated in the play “Othello” by Shakespeare, the short story “The Invisible Wound” by Karoly Kisfaludi, and the film “To Kill a Mockingbird”. In these three storylines, the author exhibits the theme of false judgment through a character of innocence that is poorly misjudged and ends tragically for them. Othello accuses his wife, Desdemona of adultery, while the unnamed protagonist in “The Invisible Wound” also inaccurately assumes his wife is cheating. In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the jury accuses Tom Robinson of a crime that he did not commit all because of the colour of his skin. Given the above, it is clear that these three story lines hold the same theme of an error in judgement occurring.
Throughout the play, “Othello” by William Shakespeare, a few of the characters are condemned on untruthful information. Desdemona and Cassio are victims of poor judgement. Accusations towards Desdemona seem to be the most prominent to any reader – which all begin when Othello falls to Iago’s manipulation......

...False Rape Accusations, Societal Impacts, and Legal Solutions
Rape, time and time again, have been reported throughout documented human history. From the rape of Lucretius, to the ‘rape’ of Sabine women+ it is not difficult to understand why stringent regulations have been made in regard to prevent the crime. In certain countries, it is even punishable by death. *As a crime against a person, rape brings about horrifying long-term effects to the victim, usually followed by lingering sentiments of guilt and shame. To discuss the notion of falsification might be callous in face of such an atrocious crime, yet to deny the existence of it would be a logical fallacy. Compassion and justice are companions, not choices (1); therefore, we are compelled to analyze and gather information. By doing so, we are not being callous ourselves; instead, we are trying to devise constructive strategies to bring about impartiality and justice.
Of the many debates surrounding the crime of rape, many more arise regarding false accusations. In regard to the rape scandals surrounding business leaders in recent years, most notably Dominique Strauss Kahn, this paper aims to address the issue of false rape accusations. More often than not, false rape allegations are portrayed by media outlets as unfounded rape, which is usually not the case. Unfounded rapes represent the circumstances which undermine efforts to arrest or to convict the perpetrator. False rape allegations, however, solely refer......

...Response paper of Confessions
Augustine outlines his sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity in Confessions, which is almost the earliest autobiography with deeply philosophical and theological thinking. He gives accounts of his faults to God genuinely and praises God with authenticity, along which he takes the chance to think about the origin of sins.
In Book I, he narrates his observation on a little baby to explain that even very young children have the tendency of being selfish, when “he could not yet speak and, pale with jealousy and bitterness, glared at his brother sharing his mother’s milk.” It seems that the tendency towards self over others is rooted within our instinct. However, the selfishness during childhood is unthinking and is usually tolerated by people because “with coming of age it will pass away.” That is, when human enter early adolescence, they gradually gain the ability to understand what’s right or wrong and to ponder sin like adults do.
While, it’s quite interesting that Augustine uses his story of stealing pears with peers to illustrate the fact that even if when human beings have clear knowledge of wrongdoing, they may still have those sinful behaviors possibly for some satisfactions. He states in Confessions: “wickedness filled me,” and “my desire was to enjoy not what I sought by stealing but merely the excitement of thieving and the doing of what was wrong.” (Book II) This thought by Augustine indicates that...

...Muhammad Yahya 1
Faiz e Rehman Muhammad Yahya
Professor: Kevin Watson
A confession: Driver at its best
16 February 2015
Underage driving is a common norm in Pakistan. So I took its advantage and started driving at the age of 16. Driving was fun and racing on the small streets too. It was the second day when I was driving car alone. I was driving to the furthermost restaurant of our metropolitan area.
I was driving fast according to my passion and suddenly saw a car at my side. He gave a devilish look and kept horning as it was obvious he wanted to race. And suddenly there was an urge inside me “Let’s race”. I lowered the gear from 3rd to 2nd and pressed the gas pedal to its limit and race was begun. I was privileged as my car was Corolla 2013 and that guy had the model that would be around 2005 to 2007. I was so excited and little bit shivering as it was my first race as driver looked experienced one. I don’t know how I made it but I made him show my car’s rear bumpers till the end. That was my day for the sure.
Coincidently we both stopped at that same restaurant he was with his one friend. He came to me and said “Hey! My name is Hamza and he is my friend Ibrahim” and I replied “hi! I am Faiz” after the short intro he gave me few compliments about my driving. As I was alone so that guy offered me to eat with them and I agreed. Within few minutes we were good friends and later turned out to be hanging out, racing and eating out together as 2 more guys joined us too,......

...The False Claims Act
The False Claims Act is an American federal law that covers fraud involving any federally funded contract or program. It is the federal government primary tool in combating fraud against the government. Recent legislation, such as the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, has broadened the scope of the False Claims Act. The definition of a false claim has been expanded, so now any false statement that is material to a claim can be actionable and liability has been expanded to knowingly failing to repay an overpayment (Cardinal 2013). According to the Wikipedia, this American federal law imposes liability on persons and companies typically federal contractors who defraud governmental programs. The law includes a qui tam provision that allows people who are not affiliated with the government, called "relators" under the law, to file actions on behalf of the government informally called "whistleblowing” especially when the relator is employed by the organization accused in the suit. Qui Tam. Qui Tam is a writ whereby a private individual who assists a prosecution can receive all or part of any penalty imposed (wiki 2015). Its name is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase qui tam pro domino rege quam pro se ipso in hac parte sequitur, meaning “he who sues in this matter for the king as well as for himself” (Wiki, 2015).
There are many legal and regulatory principles and concepts affecting the......

...sense. Naturally, it is difficult to understand why anyone would confess to a crime they didn’t commit. However, false confessions are one the leading causes of wrongful convictions.1 As the Supreme Court of Canada noted in R v. Oickle, innocent people are induced to make false confessions more frequently than those unacquainted with the phenomenon might expect.2
In North America, we can trace the existence of false confessions back to the Salem Witch Trials, where a number of women were persecuted for witchcraft on the basis of confessions that were obtained through torture and threats.3 More recent false confessions have been obtained under psychological duress and not with torture or threats of physical harm.4 Nevertheless, with the developments in law and policies in place to control interrogation methods, false confessions continue to persist.5 This begs the question, are interrogation methods solely responsible for false confessions, or does some of the responsibility fall on the confessor?
Scholars and social scientists agree, that it is not solely harsh interrogation tactics that lead to false confessions but it is the combination of these tactics with psychological factors such as, intelligence and personality, which contribute to the likelihood of a suspect providing a false confession.6 While there are currently solutions for avoiding false confessions, they do not adequately address the needs of the most vulnerable individuals who are often induced into falsely......

...“Eight men charged. Five confessions. But only one DNA match. Why would four innocent men confess to a brutal crime they didn't commit?”1 According to the video and the interviews from the video you have to understand how police interrogation works. The police are trained to interrogate suspects using mental, emotional, and pressured methods that have to rely on persuasion and pressure alone. Prior to an interrogation, the police have made up their mind that the person who they are interrogating is guilty. You don't interrogate somebody unless you first believe they're guilty. The goal is to get the person to confess.
Most people who have never been arrested for a crime have no experience with interrogation. Everyone has that point where they just break down. The Norfolk four didn’t know what it's like to be in that situation. In the video, Ford, the interrogator was accusing them, telling them that they’re lying, yelling at them; and telling them they have your DNA. The men thought they could depend on the system, but, they didn’t know that police can pretend to have evidence they don't have. This process can go on from two hours to 11 hours. In “The Confessions” The Norfolk Four were high pressured and were threatened about getting the death penalty, going to prison for life, and threats about what will happen if you don't cooperate with the interrogators.
This case is just a miniature version of almost everything that happens for the wrong reason when innocent people......

...False statements or false official statements can lead to errors or even situation that can cause harm. People can be misleading every day, however when a false statement is given in the Army it can cause a problem. False official statements falls under Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 107, it describes “Any person subject to this chapter who, with intent to deceive, signs any false record, return, regulation, order, or other official document, knowing it to be false, or makes any other false official statement knowing it to be false, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct”. There are four elements in Article 107. 1) That the accused signed a certain official document or made a certain official statement; 2) That the document or statement was false in certain particulars; 3) That the accused knew it to be false at the time of signing it or making it; and 4) That the false document or statement was made with the intent to deceive. Further defining UCMJ Article 107, “official documents and official statements include all documents and statements made in the line of duty. The rank of any person intended to be deceived is immaterial if that person was authorized in the execution of a particular duty to require or receive the statement or document from the accused. The government may be the victim of this offense. The false representation must be made with the intent to deceive. It is not necessary that the false statement be material to the issue inquiry.......

...Short Confession of Faith of 1610”
and
“The Philadelphia Confession (Particular) 1742”
The history of the formation of the Baptist faith is extremely important in understanding the doctrine it holds today. It is interesting to look at the growth since an English confession from the year 1610, to the American need to perfect it through a new confession over a century later. I will focus entirely on a comparison and contrast of A Short Confession of Faith of 1610 and The Philadelphia Confession (Particular) of 1742. This examination of two different Baptist confessions will analyze doctrinal, polity and ordinance differences, and show how these distinctions would affect the movement as well as history.
Baptists have drafted confessions of faith since 1609 for an assortment of reasons. In the years of persecution, confessions reacted to false accusations. The Baptist distinctiveness was etched by their rejection of the creed of a state church. This shaped their opinion of religious liberty, freedom of conscience, and confessions of faith. The confession A Short Confession of Faith of 1610 emphasizes the character of the community of faith and its righteous living. It was signed by thirty-four women and men, with John Smyth at the top. The Second London Confession was revised to form the Philadelphia Confession of Faith and is believed to have been adopted by the Association in 1742. Serving as a benefit to apologetics and education, this was the principal confession for......